The readings contained in this book are passages of translation from a wide selection of Old English poems. The author paraphrases their content and discuses their place and significance in the history of poetic art in Old English society and culture. This approach gives the reader an opportunity to appreciate the cultural importance of the surviving body of poems, the worldview that inspired them, and the subtleties of individual poems.

Walter Nash has spent many years teaching university students. It is clear to see that he has brought all his knowledge, experience and (most of all) his love of the subject to the writing of this book.